Adrian O’Malley, Branch Secretary, Unison Mid Yorkshire Health branch, personal capacity
Three-day strike of Mid Yorkshire Unison NHS staff against pay cuts and mass downgrading, photo Iain Dalton

Three-day strike of Mid Yorkshire Unison NHS staff against pay cuts and mass downgrading, photo Iain Dalton   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Over 350 workers in the Mid Yorkshire NHS are facing pay cuts in a mass downbanding exercise. After a one-day strike on 1 November Unison members started a three-day strike on 20 November. The trust appears to be digging in by refusing to negotiate.

This strike will show whether the management of the Trust is prepared to see mass disruption in the hospitals in the hope that our members will be bullied into submission.

Three-day strike of Mid Yorkshire Unison NHS staff against pay cuts and mass downgrading, photo Iain Dalton

Three-day strike of Mid Yorkshire Unison NHS staff against pay cuts and mass downgrading, photo Iain Dalton   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

They at first tried to downplay the impact of the 1 November strike but senior management struggled to fill in for receptionists, medical secretaries, etc. One receptionist was told that three managers had struggled to cover her clinic!

This has raised the confidence of our members who have been calling into the union office and emailing us asking when the next strike is. 52 more staff have joined the union since the strike. 16 joined when we announced the three-day strike.

Please send messages of support to our branch via [email protected] and make donations payable to Mid Yorkshire Health Unison 20671.